#archvale

So the steam winter sale just happened so I've decided to draw the cute steam sale girl. There was an attempt of the drawing during the autumn sale but I was busy back then and did not make it, but I've decide to salvage the drawing of her for this winter sale post. Along with the drawing I would also like to take this opportunity to recommend some steam games that I've played this year that you'll likely never heard of. While we get some great releases like Balatro and all, there are many other smaller indie games that did not get a lot of traction that I think these games do deserve some of your attention. Do note that this list consists of games that I've played in 2024, not necessarily released this in 2024 So in no particular order, here are my recommendations:

Witching Stone:

An elegant mix between match 3 puzzle and a roguelike. In combat, you cast spells based on the gem sequence you've input. Each spell requires their own input so each turn you will be strategizing ahead which gems you should include in your sequence to cast the spell you want. While it is not strictly a deck builder, there is enough customization and variety in the spell mechanic to allow you to make unique devastating builds.

2. Minishoot Adventures:

Imagine Zelda 1 but replace links sword combat with bullet hell combat, that's this game. There are not many non roguelike/ shmup bullet hell games and honestly there should be more of it. If you like bullet hell then definitely give this game a try. While the boss fights can be challenging overall I'd say this game is quite friendly for beginners as well (trust me, I am not very good at bullet hells and I mainly play touhou on easy mode). But do keep in mind that this game is inspired by Zelda 1 on the NES in particular, which means this game does not tell you where to go so it's up to you to explore and figure things out yourself. (There is also hardly any text in the game like in Hyper Light Drifter)

3. WitchHand

A card based colony management game similar to Stacklands, but it does a lot of unique things with the witch theme. In this game you can do all things from management games like building buildings, command familiars to fight for you, craft resources and more, but all in a easy to grasp card format where everything is a tangible card. Two things I really like about this game, one is that there is no card limit like in stacklands which really kills the pacing for me, secondly, this game has automation mechanics where you will eventually build supply chains to automate a lot of the complex crafting for you. Overall playing this is a very addicting and satisfying experience, just keep in mind that you will be managing, a lot, and I mean a lot of cards.

4. Rusted Moss

A grappling hook focused metroidvania with bullet hell combat. While most games have grappling hooks, this games stands out where the hook is actually elastic like rubber, in which you can stretch and contract it to fling yourself wherever you need. While it takes some time to get used to, it is indeed pretty fun to master this movement mechanics (schmovement as they called it). The level designs does make use of this as well, for example in most metroidvanias if you see a ledge you can't reach it usually means you'll need another upgrade to reach there later on, but in this game it's likely just skill issue. it also has a good number of optional challenge ares to test your mastery on the movement mechanics. Combine this and some well crafted gun play, you get some fun and engaging gameplay throughout your adventure. While I'd say this game is pretty challenging in terms of the platforming skill it demands, there are accessibility options that let you tweak the game's challenge to whatever fit your needs. Also this game has some interesting lore that is based on Fairy Tales with some pretty interesting character interactions if that is your thing. (Also this game has another content update coming soon.)

5. Transiruby

An cute little metroidvania where you play as a cute robot girl. While this game is pretty simple and arcady in terms of it's collectathon gameplay (you just collect chips in areas which are the equivalent of Mario coins) I do find it quite charming, and sometimes that's all you need for a fun experience. Also one of the upgrades allows your cute robot girl transform into a motorcycle if that interests you.

6. Touhou Endless Dream

It's your standard bullet hell top down shooter roguelike with a touhou theme. While the game can be janky and lackluster at times, but if you can look past that the gameplay is thrilling with enemies all over the place shooting unique bullet patterns which you'll need to observe and dodge carefully. I honestly enjoyed my playtime with the game and would love to see the devs expand on this as this game has a lot of potential. Do check this game out if you are looking for some fun and intense bullet hell combat out of the box.

7. Touhou lensed Night Sky

A Touhou fan game that is a roguelike. Unlike games like touhou 18 and 18.5 this game goes all in with it's roguelike aspect with randomly generated enemy encounters and game changing Bind of Issac style item systems on top your familiar shmup gameplay from Touhou. I really like this game because it does many unique things that you usually don't see from a standard Touhou shmup and there is a lot of variety from the item effect. There is a good blend of stat based upgrade and upgrades that heavily alters the game mechanics, great for making unique builds which makes this game very replayable. (It also has a challenge based difficulty system similar to Slay the Spire's accession system if that is your thing). I would recommend you to at least give this game's demo a shot although do keep in mind that this is still an early access game with quite a number of bugs to be expected. (The devs are working hard squashing the bugs so do report them if you found any.) But if you can look past that, this is a game worth trying for yourself.

8. Archvale

Another bullet hell adventure game but unlike Minishoot Adventures this one takes inspiration from Terraria with it's many unique weapons for you to decide on your playstyle. What I really like this game is it has a lot of polish into making sure the combat feels very satisfying. Similar to Vlambeer's games like Nuclear Throne, every moment of gameplay is a treat for the senses. If your like nuclear throne or what you've seen from gameplay footages then you should get this game.

9. Maiden and Spell

A bullet hell PvP fighting game. Imagine Touhou 9 or 19 but both players are in a single arena shooting directly at each other, that's this game. This is Mino's previous game and while it's not a replayable roguelike like Rabbit and Steel, I still think this game is worth a look at if you like bullet hell combat. While it is a fighting game, it also has a pretty fun single player campaign to play with. This game also supports online play with online netcode and from my experience the online gameplay is pretty solid with minimal network issues encountered. Do give this game a shot and like rabbit and steel, recommend this to a friend as well so they can play with you. And one more thing, like Rabbit and Steel, the soundtrack of this game is also remarkable as well so do give it a listen.

Humble Games’ lineup of upcoming games will be available via Xbox Game Pass for Console, Cloud, and PC on day one 

 The full lineup of day one Xbox Game Pass games includes:

Archvale – Embark on a journey to find the ruins of a long-believed mythic arch in this colorful hybrid between classic RPGs and bullet hells. You’ll be pushed to your limits in enemy filled biomes and only through mastery of skills and weapons will you succeed.

Bushiden – Your sister has vanished and rumors swirl that Gaoh has been resurrected with an evil army at his command. Explore for cybernetic upgrades until you are powerful enough to defeat the diabolic Gaoh and his cybergentic army once and for all in this futuristic, action platformer!

Chinatown Detective Agency: Chinatown Detective Agency is a cybernoir point and click adventure blending stunning retro design with innovative mechanics. Manage your detective agency and use real world research to solve cases as you unravel a global conspiracy.

Dodgeball Academia – In a world that lives and breathes all things dodgeball, you’ll join Otto at the academia to train to become the ultimate dodgeball champion. Make friends, build formidable teams, and level up in order to dominate on and off the courts! Available now on Xbox One, Cloud Gaming (Beta), and PC with Xbox Game Pass.

Flynn: Son of Crimson – Help Flynn and his mythical companion Dex save Rosantica before the evil from The Scourge claims his home. In Flynn: Son of Crimson, you’ll go on a journey of discovery and conflict as you learn to master the power of Crimson Energy. Available on September 15, 2021.

Midnight Fight Express – Fight your way across the city in a brutal romp that mixes old school brawlers and fast-paced motion-captured combat. Battle across multiple, distinct hand-crafted levels on foot or a variety of vehicles.

Next Space Rebels – In Next Space Rebels, you will develop from a naive rocket hobbyist into an experienced space activist by designing, building, and launching rockets of increasing complexity.

Signalis – A classic survival horror experience with a unique aesthetic, full of melancholic mystery. Investigate a dark secret, solve puzzles, fight off nightmarish creatures and navigate dystopian, surreal retrotech worlds as Elster, a technician Replika searching for her lost dreams.

Unpacking – Unpack like never before! Arrange an unseen character’s belongings through a variety of moves, learning about them through each transition, in this self-paced zen puzzle game.

I have discovered, at my son’s suggestion, a game called Archvale, which I played for nine fucking hours today, and it is only 5:07 PM. I had to tear myself away from the Xbox, an act requiring much more willpower than I was expecting, in order to make sure that my minor son, who I am both legally and morally responsible for, ate lunch. And also to make sure that he was, like, in the house. My…

This is a dungeon crawler with checkpoints. This game is not easy but it is fun it reminds me of The Binding of Isaac, Classic Zelda and Heroes, and Hammerwatch. If you like those games you probably will like this game. I was playing this game through game pass on PC but I do not like game pass on PC due to the buggy Xbox App.

-----------| Game Description and Store Link |------------

Take up your weapon in this RPG bullet-hell world and embark on a journey to right wrongs from long ago. Only you can defeat the evil forces of the Undying guardians and reunite the world with the fabled Archvale.

Here is the Steam page for this game:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1296360/Archvale/?curator_clanid=41065644

Support me and charity by buying the game on Humble Bundle:

https://www.humblebundle.com/store/archvale?partner=treeofember

---------------| Other Info |-------------

The setup:

- The map works in tiles, you can't move to a different tile without clearing all monsters in your current tile - There are healing fountains that act as teleport and resurrection points - You can teleport between fountains if you go up to one and press it - Half your un-banked money is taken if you die, no other effects - Once you clear a tile of enemies it stays cleared until you touch a fountain, which resets everything - The shape of the map is revealed once you reach an area, with tiles-of-interest marked with a "?" once you reach an adjacent tile - All towns have fountains, but some shops are only available in some towns

Problem 1: Time spent travelling wihout risk in this game is boring.

The movement in this game is not a compelling feature without enemies around, nor are the environments that exciting to wander through more than once. This means that, when I run low on resources and want to return to a fountain or shop, I have to walk there, possibly taking several teleports to find all the things I want. This is a dull way to spend time. It is often tempting to press ahead and die to get teleported back to a fountain, effectivly a cost of half your gold to avoid a dull walk.

Potential changes: - Allow teleporting from any cleared tile, avoiding the risk-free, ever-present, dull option - Allow access to any shop from any town - Theme each town around a progression mechanic, so teleporting to each town feels deliberate Problem 2: Map placement of fountains pays no attention to risk-reward.

Fountains are the only permanent real map progression you make. Sometimes fountains are next to each other. Not just close - next to. That's zero risk for a reward of permanent progression. On Normal difficulty (haven't checked the others) there are times when you bravely set off into the unknown at full health, expecting yet harder foes than before, to be met with the ultimate reward of map progression without having put any effort it.

This is frustrating as it cheapens the reward, not only emotionally (less effort put in) but mechanically too since in terms of risky progression adjacent fountains are equivalent to a single fountain.

Potential changes: - Don't place them next to each other - Replace existing too-close fountains with shrines - Build from fountains up. Not necessarily full Dark Souls, but deliberately place fountains and calculate the risk / reward of each path available.

Problem 3: Dead ends.

When you enter a zone the tile layout, but not contents, is revealed to you. I lied a little about fountains being the only permanent map progression - the knowledge of which tiles contan points of interest is also of useful.

There is a certain kind of "huh" that comes from exploring dead ends and finding nothing. There are a couple on instances of finding mini-bosses; which beside towns and dungeons are the only things on the map ever worth leaving to return to later. This game has a lot of dead ends. And a lot of nothing. Just tiles similar to everything else you've seen. This is the opposite of having to endure zero risk to find a fountain reward; enduring all the risk to find no reward.